UALR women win 13th consecutive game, beat Louisiana-Lafayette on the road

BURN THE HORSE

   Asriel Rolfe scored 18 points as UALR got defensive stops in the final minute to hold off Louisiana-Lafayette 57-52 on Saturday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La.

   Marian Kursh added 12 points while Chastity Reed was held to 11. But it was enough for the Trojans to improve to 10-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. UALR extended its winning streak to 13 games, its Sun Belt Conference winning streak to 27 games and its February winning streak to 15 games.
  UALR led 26-21 at halftime and increased its lead to 50-37 on a three-pointer by Rolfe with 7:01 left. Things quickly deteriorated from there with Louisiana-Lafayette cutting the lead to 53-52 with 48 seconds left on a layup by D’Mya Clay.
   Rolfe was charged with a turnover on the ensuring possession and Louisiana-Lafayette had an opportunity to tie. First, Reed blocked the shot of Nicole Morris and the ball went out of bounds with 21 seconds left. Then Shanika Butler stole the ball from Jasmine Barnes and was fouled with 18 seconds left. Butler made both free throws for a 55-52 lead.
   Smith missed on a three-point attempt and Kursh grabbed the rebound with seven seconds left. She made both free throws to put the game out of reach at 57-52.
   UALR won despite getting outrebounded 36-29. The difference was three-point shooting. UAlR was 6 of 14 to Louisiana-Lafayette’s 2 of 9.